[tk13]

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansas...s/16295417.htm

Now that the Pittsburgh Penguins are officially looking for a new home, Boots Del Biaggio III wants Kansas City to show it can support an NHL franchise.

Penguins owner Mario Lemieux announced Thursday that he was taking the team off the market while he explores relocation options in the aftermath of a state gaming board’s rejection of a casino’s offer to build a $290 million arena for the club.

Del Biaggio, who has a contract to own any NHL team that operates in the Sprint Center, plans to be in Kansas City after the first of the year to launch a drive for season-ticket deposits and solicit corporate support as the first steps in convincing his close friend Lemieux to move the club to the $276 million arena that is scheduled to open in October.

“It’s exciting news that Mario made that statement,” said Del Biaggio, a San Jose-based businessman and limited partner in the NHL’s San Jose Sharks. “It means the Kansas City market and other markets are now an option, where before they weren’t.

“This is now going to be a beauty contest with other cities that want a team. Now, more than ever, it’s important that Kansas City can show the kind of support an NHL team needs.”

Besides Kansas City, other markets that may be interested in the Penguins include Houston; Seattle; Las Vegas; Portland, Ore.; Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Hamilton, Ontario. And the Penguins haven’t given up on striking a deal with the city and state on a new arena to replace antiquated Mellon Arena, where the club’s lease expires at the end of the season.

The current plan proposed by Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell would cost the Penguins about $120 million over 30 years.

Although Lemieux said the Penguins are off the market, Del Biaggio is confident he can work out a partnership with Lemieux. They’ve been partners in a junior hockey club in Omaha, Neb.

Del Biaggio came close to buying the Penguins in 2005, but the club was taken off the market at the 11th hour after it won the rights to the No. 1 pick in the draft, Sidney Crosby, who is the NHL’s leading scorer. Also, former NHL star Luc Robitaille, a boyhood friend and former teammate of Lemieux’s with the Penguins — and also a partner in the Omaha club — is an executive with Anschutz Entertainment Group, which will manage the Sprint Center. One of Robitaille’s roles is to help bring an NHL team to Kansas City, and his connection with Lemieux could facilitate a partnership between Del Biaggio and the Penguins. (cont...)